Author Archives: Bria

SDCC 2014: Marvel Takes Back Star Wars

Posted on by

Just as expected, the Marvel Cup O’Joe Panel at San Diego Comic-Con gave us our first real look at what Marvel will be doing once they take back the Star Wars license in January.

First up, (and to me, the most exciting!) we’ll be getting a miniseries titled Star Wars: Princess Leia with script by Mark Waid and with art by Terry Dodson.  The first issue will be released in March.

Leia_Dodson1

 

We’re also getting two ongoings of which is the first is the expected ‘Star Wars‘.  That will have Jason Aaron on script and John Cassaday on art.  The first issue hits in January and will feature our usual suspects amongst the main cast.

StarWars_Cassaday1

And finally, there will also be a Star Wars: Darth Vader ongoing series written by Kieron Gillen with art by Salvador Larroca.  (Note that the cover below is by Adi Granov.)  The first issue will be released in February 2015.

Vader_Granov1

The two ongoing series will take place concurrently as they will back up after the Battle of Yavin.  Apparently the Vader series picks up right after Vader’s fighter goes spinning into space while Star Wars picks up two weeks later.  Jordan White will be the editor for all three books.

One of the questions at the panel did ask whether we’d be seeing Expanded Universe characters in the comics and the answer is that it is up to the Lucasfilm Story Group.  Apparently we will also see Boba Fett at some point but it’s a tricky time period.

The Official Site has interviews up with all three writers of the new books.

As for other questions from the panel, someone asked if characters from the old Marvel comics might show up.  The answer was that Jason Aaron will try but Jordan White might stop him.  The Marvel crew found Patton Oswalt’s Star Wars pitch hilarious but don’t think they have the rights to make that into a comic.  Also apparently Axel Alonso is trying to make ‘The Punisher Kills The Star Wars Universe’ a thing that happens.

SDCC 2014: Rebels and Books

Posted on by

Two days down of San Diego Comic-Con and we’re already rolling in Star Wars news.  Well sort of.

Last night was the Rebels panel that featured the main cast along with Dave Filoni.  You can read StarWars.com’s liveblog of the event here.  While we didn’t get the official release date for Rebels (groan!), we did learn a few things.  The cast agrees that Vanessa Marshall is the biggest Star Wars fan out of all of them although apparently Freddie Prinze Jr. makes all the Force motions while recording.  The show will definitely be embracing the idea of this crew as a family and bringing in some comedy; both concepts they’re taking from the Original Trilogy.  Another point of note from the panel is that Filoni made mention of establishing a hierarchy of villains so if Darth Vader shows up, people should definitely be running.  Also, Rebels will be much more of a contained story than the Clone Wars as they won’t be jumping from character to character and creating new locations each week.

In addition to showing several clips from the show, they also debuted a second brand new trailer which you can watch below.

The Star Wars Books panel just wrapped up and needless to say, the highlight was the new book announcement.  Christie Golden will be penning a novel about Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos.  The book is due out in Summer 2015 and is taken from a plot line for the intended Season 7 of The Clone Wars.

asajj vos

As for the rest of the panel, it was moderated by Vanessa Marshall and there was a lot of discussion about John Jackson Miller’s forthcoming A New Dawn.  Vanessa has apparently read the book already and said it gave her a lot of insight into Hera.  Tarkin will be, as expected, akin to James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis and will take place very close to Revenge of the Sith.  Heir to the Jedi was described as a character study of Luke Skywalker and Lords of the Sith was dubbed “kind of a Vader/Palpatine road trip novel” by Jen Heddle.  You can read the rest of the live blog of the panel by the main site here.  I’d particularly suggest that readers take note of their comments about the newly minted Legends books.

If you’re looking for comic news though… well that’ll be dropping tomorrow during Marvel’s Cup of Joe Panel.  You’ve been warned.

Review: Star Wars: Legacy #17

Posted on by

The final arc of Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman’s fantastic Star Wars comic continues as Legacy #17 hits comic store shelves today!  (And this review continues to be sad that we’re in the last few months of this book.)

Ania and company have followed the coordinates from Jao’s transmission to the rogue planet but their mission to rescue the Imperial Knight is far from over.  They no more free Jao from his bonds when a literal army of Sith arrive hell bent on taking out Darth Wredd once and for all!

Continue reading →

Review: Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir #3

Posted on by

Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir #3 by Jeremy Barlow and Juan Frigeri hits comic store shelves today and Maul’s vendetta against Darth Sidious continues!

Count Dooku and General Grievous are now captives of Darth Maul after a fierce battle in the last issue. Maul tries to convince Dooku to abandon Darth Sidious and work with him and Mother Talzin instead.  Meanwhile, the Jedi have gotten wind of Maul’s latest victory and spot an opportunity to take out two enemies at the same time…

It’s difficult to discuss this issue without going into the “surprising facts from Maul’s past” that the solicit alluded to so from this point onward, this review will have spoilers despite my usual policy to write spoiler free.

Continue reading →

Review: Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows

Posted on by

It’s another Vader graphic novel as the collected edition of Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows hits shelves today.  Tim Siedell on script and Gabriel Guzman on art take us on another galactic adventure with the newly named Dark Lord of the Sith… or do they?

Darth Vader’s rampage across the galaxy after the fall of the Republic continues as he seeks out the remaining Jedi and rebels to destroy them.  It’s through the eyes of a deserter clone trooper returned to the fold that we some of this as he comes to serve as one of Vader’s most trusted stormtroopers.

Continue reading →

Review: Star Wars: Rebel Heist #3

Posted on by

Another issue of Rebel Heist, another one of our heroes takes the spotlight.  Rebel Heist #3 by Matt Kindt and Marco Castiello arrives in comic stores today as Chewbacca gets to pick up almost literally where Leia let off and get the trooper to his destination.

This go-round, it’s the stormtrooper with a code hidden in his DNA who’s narrating our hero’s adventure.  Unfortunately for him, he’s stuck with Chewbacca as his guide when he doesn’t think much of wookiees or understand of a lick of shyriiwook.  This is clearly not a partnership made in heaven but it’s the only way they’re going to get to this galaxy drive in time to help Han.

Continue reading →

Review: Star Wars: Legacy #16

Posted on by

The last arc of Star Wars: Legacy kicks off today as Legacy #16 hits comic store shelves.  Don’t worry though: Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman are hardly going to just coast through these final few issues and there are always some surprises awaiting readers in Legacy…

This review contains some spoilers.

When last we saw our heroes, Ania Solo had been rescued from her mysterious hunter and also exonerated during her trial.  As is the nature of the galaxy though, Jao Assam was arrested for deserting the Knights.  Clearly Ania will be having none of that so she sets out to try and have him freed only for Jao to seemingly escape.  Nothing’s quite what it seems though from Jao’s escape to the Empress Fel herself.

Continue reading →

Conventions 101

Posted on by

Convention season is starting up again and somewhere out there, hundreds of people are thinking about attending their very first convention.  Let’s face it: walking into a moderate to large con for the first time can be totally overwhelming.  That’s why we’ve put together today’s post with some tips and suggestions for con goers both new and old!  I’ve been attending conventions since Dragon*Con 2008 and every year since, I’ve heard a good tip that I then proceed to integrate into my own convention routine.  So that said, let’s begin!

Before The Con: Do Your Homework
This covers so many things but it’s the best and pithiest tip I can give you.  If you do a little bit of googling before the convention, it’ll make your life a ton easier.  Even knowing roughly how big the con is can do wonders for you once you actually arrive especially if you can find a map of the convention.  For example, there are some conventions where you need to buy a badge in advanced or else you won’t be able to get in.  A quick google search can be incredibly useful here.  Of course, there are likely to be plenty of volunteers on the ground who can clarify things for you but it’s always helpful to do some homework first.

Panels
Conventions tend to release their final schedule of panels a week or two before the show.  It’s worth taking a look at before hand so you can see what panels are must-attends for you.  You have to be realistic here though.  It’s unlikely you’ll be able to make 4 Celebrity Q+As in a row if the convention is the sort to clear the room between each panel.  If there’s a high profile guest that you’re dying to see, plan to get in line for them at least an hour before hand.  Some won’t let you even start a line before a certain time but you can always mill around the area.  (It’s a completely different game if it’s a convention where you can stay in the room from panel to panel.)  Be willing to be flexible as something will inevitably pop up during the con.  I usually mark 2 panels as must-sees and then make a ‘These would be nice’ list to supplement it but I also tend to not do tons of panels at cons. Continue reading →